Sorry guys, but the story ends here.
Reason: The monk is just too damn powerful on lvl14+
After getting the magic resistance everything was a walk in the park. Hordes of monsters supposed to be scary were just wandering XP and boosted him, so that I reached lvl20 when doing the Unseeing Eye (still in the story). The lair was done without reloads, without potions just one LayOnHands that's it.
Looking for a challenge I decided to take on Watchers Keep BEFORE Spellhold. Big mistake.
Everything went smooth. Arriving at Lum The Mad's I hit lvl50 (which even with the ruleset seems to make NO difference to lvl40 except for the HP and the bonus AC vs. missiles). I cleared the last level without reloading or resting and on top of all that taking down Demogorgon took me 3 seconds only.
FRIGGIN 3 SECONDS!!!
This game is NO fun anymore, just stupid hack'n slash. I'm at the point where I can leave a fight with 3 beholders and 2 Lichs with the AI on and go make a sandwich until it's over.
Conclusion: A solo monk is BIG fun through BG1 and really challenging, but once you hit lvl14 in BG2 it's over. The magic resistance nullifies the strong use of magic in SoA and degrades mighty wizards to punching balls. Soloing from the start of BG1 will also give you an XP edge, that will make you hit VERY high levels all too soon in SoA thus killing the balance.
Again sorry guys, but I think I'm gonna take a break from BG and maybe pick up a new party game later - with banter and tactics and dying and cursing and actually playing.
[ 05-07-2004, 03:05 AM: Message edited by: Faceman ]